Split upper with counter stiffening means



SPLIT UPPER WITH COUNTER STIFFENING MEANS Filed May 13, 1958 Oct. 11, 1960 M. ZUCKERMAN 3 Sheets-Sheei 1 A U E I! IN VEN TOR. MERWMI ZUCKE'RMAN flu G u ATTORNEY Oct. 11, 1960 M. ZUCKERMAN 2,955,366

SPL IT UPPER WITH COUNTER STIFFENING MEANS Filed May 13, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

MERWIN ZUCKERMAN ATTOR NE Y Oct. 11, 1960 ZUCKERMAN 2,955,366

SPLIT UPPER WITH COUNTER STIFFENING MEANS Filed May 13. 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. MERWIN ZUCKERMAN BY QZLQ LAK A T TORNEY United States Patent iiee SPLIT UPPER Generically, .the invention relates to footwear and spe cifically it comprehends improvements in shoe uppers and methods "of manufacturing same, for womens and misses shoes and mens shoes.

In the manufacture of womens and mens shoes competition is extremely keen, and the cost of producing the footwear must be controlled with a slide rule in order for the "shoe manufacture to stay in business. Both men and women are not only style but dollar conscious today and if the shopper can obtain a shoe which is a good fit, is fashionably styled, and costs a little less than a shoe of another brand of equal fit and style, they will buy the less expensive shoe. 7

Two phases of shoemaking are subject to streamlining: (1;) in most of the conventional shoes a separate lining must be added and (2) the insertion of the shoe counter requires a separate pocket. With respect to the latter, various expedients have been employed in, the making, of womens shoes to produce a counter construction which has the desired stiffness and fit of the leather counter originally employed, but which for reasons of economy, size considerations or otherwise, has been for the most part discarded. The counters in fashionably styled shoes of today are principally of two types: either (1) a fibre counter molded to fit the particular size and style of last on which the shoe is to be pulled over or (2) a plastic stabilizer may be injected in .a separate counter pocket which is sewn to the lining.

I have, after extensive experimentation, produced a shoe upper characterized by economy :of manufacture which can be fabricated in the epitome of style with -a superior fit and feel .not .found .in shoes made in the conventional manner. a

'One object of my invention is a shoe upper fabricated of a single piece of leather, one side of which forms the shoe lining, obviating the necessity of providing a separate'lin'ing.

Another object is a shoe upper and method of making same which will eliminate the need for molds made to conform the fibre counter to the last for such a counter is not required in my upper.

Still another object is the provision of a shoe including a pouch or pocket formed of the joined split sections of the upper in a novel manner.

Another prime object is a method of fabricating the upper wherein plastic material is inserted in the pouch aforesaid, the material is then rolled, the upper pulled over the shoe last producing an integral shoe counter which conforms to a nicety to the style and size of last used.

Another object is the elimination of the conventional step of sewing in a separate pocket on top of the lining and then inserting a counter in said pocket. Also an object is to void the step of providing inside back stays in the shoe upper. These and other objects will be manifest as the specification unfolds.

2,955,366 Patented Oct. 11 1960 I-nthe-tl-i-awings:

Fig. 1, a top plan view of the-shoe upper as it is initially split and inner flaps shortened 7 Fig.2, a cross section along line 22 of Fig. l

Fig; 3', a top -=plan viewshowing fleece lining cemented to the flap v Fig. 4, a cross section along line 4-4 of Fig. 3 5, a top plan view of the upper showing ends of splits'eetion joined v Fig. 6,,a perspective view of the upper in the next stage Fig. 7, across section along line 7-7 of Fig. 6 showing opening in the pouch Fig. 8, an enlarged sectional view along line 88 of Fi 1-6 fi ig. 9, a perspective view showing injection of plastic stabilizer Fig. 10, side-elevationalview showing rollers for rolling stabilizer "Fig; 11,- side-elevational view showing upper pulled over'last I Fig. 12, side-elevational view of upper removed from last Fig. 13, cross-section taken along line 13-13 of Fig. 12 Fig. 14,, a completed shoe. In order to simplify an understanding of the invention, I'have marshalled the numbered parts below:

:5. pp 6, single piece of leather 7, one side of leather 8,.fiesh "side 9, end portions of leather 10, inner flap .1-1 outer flap 12, inner surface of flap 10 13, outer surface of flap 10 14, inner surface of flap 11 .15, outer surface of flap 11 16, line to which end portions 9 are split 17 cement 18, fleece lining 19, stitching of flaps 10 20, stitching of flaps 11 '21, pouch or pocket 22, binding 23, stitching -of binding 24, rim-of upper 25, collar lining .26, bottom stitching of flaps 27, opening into pouch 28 toe lining 29, insole In carrying out my invention 5 indicates generally a shoe upper wherein an initial stageof production is shown at Fig. l.

Here I have cut a single piece of leather 6, quasi yokeshaped, which may be suede, pursuant to a desired pattern for producing a shoe, the leather having side 7 and flesh side 8 with the opposite free end portions 9 split to form flaps 10, 11with flaps 10 cut shorter than the latter. Obviously, leathers other than suede can be used, this being one example, and in the example illustrated in the drawings, a womens shoe is shown, but my invention is applicable to mens shoes as well.

Flap 10 has inner surface 12, outer surface 13, while flap 11 includes inner surface 14 and outer surface 15 see Fig. 2. End portions 9 are longitudinally split inwardly to line 16.

While other machines may be employed for the purpose, I utilize a high speed band knife splitting machine to split the leather longitudinally, and in the embodiment shown, by way of example, the upper may be of suede ..2,9so,see

with the flesh side of the leather 8 becoming the outer side With the upper as illustrated in Fig. 3 turned over or reversed the free ends of inner flaps 10 and outer flaps 11 are stitched together as at 19, 20 with the raw edges of the seams facing each other leaving a finished seam out-.

side and inside the shoe-see Fig. -forming pocket or pocket 21 therebetween with the upper side of said pocket about half the length of the lower side. Side 8, the flesh,

side of the leather is now outwardly facing.

Binding 22 is then stitched as at 23 to the rim 24 of upper 5 which thereby closes the top of pocket 21 and flaps 10, 11, while collar lining 25 is attached to the rim in the conventional manner, and a leather toe lining may be adhesively secured to side 7 of leather 6, and this side comprises the main lining of the shoe. Thus the insertion of a separate lining is obviated, at considerable saving. ,j

The bottom margins of flaps 10, 11 are stitched together at line 26 by starting forwardly of line 16 on one side and carrying the stitching around to a point just short of line 16 on the opposite side, leaving an opening 27. This opening may be of about 4", though not necessarily of this size.

Pocket 21 is thus formed along the rear portion of upper 5, between the flaps 10, 11 with the tops, rears and lower portions of the flaps closed by stitching while the forward opposite ends of the pocket are defined and closed by line 16, the termination of the split portion of leather piece 6.

As depicted in Fig. 9 plastic material such as a resin plastic stabilizer S that is any suitable thermoplastic material in semi-liquid form, which becomes flexible upon heating and acquires a shape-retaining character after having been permitted to cool, or a polyester mixed with a catalyst in semi liquid. form which hardens upon air drying, is injected into pocket 21 through nozzle N mounted on a machine M designed for the purpose, the plastic material then being dispersed throughout the pocket by calendering through rollers R (Fig. and the upper is inserted so that it is rolled away from opening 27 and the plastic material evenly distributed toward the closed end of pocket 21.

The upper 5 is then pulled over last Lsee Fig. l1 and during the lasting the upper 5 is fastened to insole 29 in the usual manner that is by stapling, tacking or cementing. In the pull over process,'the plastic material S permeates the cavity in pocket 21 and the fleece lining 18, conforming it perfectly, through tension, to the contour of the size and style of last employed, and upon hardening of the plastic material, an integral hard counter is formed in the region where a separate counter pocket is usually necessitated.

Following removal of upper 5 from the last after the plastic stabilizer has hardened-see Fig. 12-the shoe is finished in the usual manner by application of the outsole, shank stiifener, heel and sock lining (not shown) to produce a shoe as illustrated in Fig. 14.

The integral counter of my construction has the capital advantage of conforming perfectly to the particular size and style of last employed, assuring perfection in fit" and feel of the shoe. In addition to these advantages,

. there is a substantial saving in the cost of manufacture through elimination of (1) a separate lining since one side of leather 6 forms the lining (2) inside back stays are not required because of the firm and positive support afforded by my integral counter (3) the step of sewing on a separate counter pocket on top of the conventional lining is unnecessary. Finally, molds to conform the fibre counters to the lasts are not necessary. The aggregate saving is substantial, and what is of paramount importance, the quality of the shoe upper of my construction is superior.

Various modifications are possible and I reserve the right to make such changes or modifications as may come within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A shoe upper comprising a single yokelike piece of leather having one flesh side and a suede side, opposing free ends and a forepart central portion joining said ends, said ends being split longitudinally to a slanting line in-l wardly of their ends to form two pairs of flaps, the pairs of flaps on the suede side being longer than the pair on the flesh side, and an absorbent material joined to the longer pair of flaps on the inner sides thereof, the free ends of the shorter pair and the free ends of the longer pair of flaps being stitched separately together, the upper and bottom portions of said flaps secured together with an opening adjacent to the unsplit ends providing a con-I tinuous pocket in the heel region of the upper, the upper. side of which is approximately half the length of the lower. side, the ends of the stitched seams of each pair of flaps facing each other in said pocket with a finished seam outside and inside the upper, a plastic material within the pocket providing an integral counter conforming to the size and shape of a last, the suede side of the leather forming the outer portion of the upper and theflesh side forming the lining.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

